This invention relates to exercising devices in general, and in particular to devices for exercising the back of the user. It also relates to exercising devices of the type which may be mounted in a door frame.
In the prior art it is well-known that suspending the portion of the body lying above the pelvis in an upside-down position helps to relieve backaches and other physical problems related to spinal compression. In particular, this exercise is helpful in correcting a condition in which a scoliosis curve in the spinal cord may occur from a misalignment thereof. This misalignment may cause tension in the back of a person and pinch his nerve ends. The problem tends to get worse unless the scoliotic curve is properly addressed.
Devices are known in the prior art that permit the user to suspend the upper part of his body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,708 to Victor Steele shows a device for suspending a person's body above the pelvic region in an inverted position by positioning a trapeze bar in a door frame; the person resting his pelvic region on pade provided on the trapeze bar, and bending forward. Steele does not allow the legs of the user to be stretched out while the upper portion of his body is suspended in an inverted manner, and contemplates that the legs of the user should be maintained in a bent position, and the feet of the user supported above the pelvis by support means. This position of the user's body does not allow the back muscles of the user to be fully stretched since the leg muscles do not apply a pull on the back muscles. In particular, with the exercising device of Steele, the spinal cord and associated muscles around the pelvic region are not fully exercised.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,180 to Morgan shows a back stretcher for forcibly bending and exercising the back and the back muscles of the body. In this device the user maintains his feet strapped to a platform and attempts to bend backwards over a yieldable strap and grasps handles 36 positioned on the platform. Here again, the legs of the user are not permitted to stretch out when the body of the user above the pelvis is suspended in an inverted manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,375 to Penner shows an exercise apparatus which uses a suspended padded knee bar and a padded toe bar spaced therefrom. The user hangs upside-down by positioning his knees over the knee bar and hooking his feet under the toe bar. When the user hangs upside-down his feet are engaged by the toe bar and cannot be moved. A ladder is provided to assist the user to position his knees across the knee bar.
It can be seen that while it has been recognized that there is a therapeutic value in using exercising devices that allow the upper region of the human body above the pelvis to be suspended in an inverted position, and prior devices permit a user to accomplish this, the prior art devices have not allowed the legs of the user to be stretched out in a direction substantially perpendicular to his inverted upper body portion so that the legs may apply an additional pull on the back muscles and the spinal cord.